The bulk of today’s available pornography often contains depictions of violence and abuse. The majority is usually against the female performers. It is depicted in a number of ways, from name-calling and spitting to physical violence such as slapping and biting to extreme simulations of rape. This no doubt has an effect on the viewer. As our society becomes more and more desensitized to such sexual violence, it becomes more tolerated.

As drawn from the available research gathered on this site, here are some talking points:

Pornography, which portrays women deriving pleasure from physical abuse, tends to enable men to foster attitudes more forgiving of violence against women and to become more comfortable with the “idea” of rape.

There is an abundant amount of evidence that shows viewers of pornography often seek to find ways to perform in real life the same certain sex acts that they saw on the films, magazines, and online.

The actual making of pornography often involves violence and sexual assault. During the production of commercial pornography, performers are subjected to intense abuse and violence and are pressured to continue by their agent or director.

Consumers graduate from common to less common forms of pornography as their usage increases over time. This may be because familiar material becomes unexciting as a result of habituation. These consumers move to more violent and degrading materials as they become invested more in pornography.